The 11th of March, the annual Manitou Springs High School Boys Basketball Banquet was held at the MSHS Commons. The banquet was held to honor and shine a light on specific people on the team who have stood out this last year. When the boys first got to the banquet they all ate food and socialized with each other. After that, the C-team was the first to be honored. Coach Corey Sienknecht handed out certifications of participation to every player on the team. Following the C-team was Junior Varsity (JV), who were all also given certifications of participation from their very own coach: Ken Vecchio.

The biggest winners of the night were the boys on the Varsity team. Coach Brian Vecchio handed out certificates of participation to all the boys on the team, including the swingers. People who have previously lettered were given pins, while the two new letterers on the team– Caleb Allen (9) and Otto Landrum (9)– were given a letter in addition to the pin. The two freshmen had recently swung up to Varsity. Coach B. Vecchio also had the responsibility of handing out the Certificates of Academic Honorable Mention. This year, Grayson Bodor (11), Joey Allen (11), Hunter Zentz (12) and Zack Perry-Perkins (12) were given the prestigious award. Winners of the All Conference-Award were Allen and Isaiah Thomas (10). Thomas, Allen, Zentz and Austin Glasener (11) were given the Certificate of Academic Honorable Mention as well.

Following this, it was the players’ turn to give back to their coaches. Perry-Perkins gave a gift to Coach K. Vecchio’s wife, Brenda Vecchio, which is well deserved as she has been washing the boys’ jerseys after every game they’ve had this season. Coach K. Vecchio was also given a gift by Zentz. Other gifters were Kainen Reed (12) and Avery Olson (12), who each gave a gift to Nick Nunley and Coach Sienknecht, respectively. All the boys gave a short speech while presenting these gifts to show thanks and appreciation to their chosen recipient.

As the event came to an end, everyone in attendance had cake. The seniors were also given a piece of cake to take home, which had an edible picture of them on it.